That's What Friends Are For, Pt. 2

Received a couple of emails yesterday, concerning my "friends" post... so I just want to amplify a couple of things:

1) There is a difference between kicking a friendship to the curb, and being wise. "Kicking a friend to the curb" is more a situation where I don't like what he/she said to me, so I'm not speaking to them anymore. That's not a good thing. However, It might be a WISE THING for me to step back from the relationship for a bit, if the relationship is unhealthy. Proverbs 27:6 says, "Wounds from a friend can be trusted..." Sometimes a friend needs to say hard things in a loving way... one who is not a loyal friend will say hard (even mean or ugly) things, with no respect to the impact of their words. They might need to get the boot. :-)

2) We need to be intentional with creating an entourage. I need people (plural) around me who will encourage me, lovingly challenge me, and speak vision into me. This has to be an intentional process... it doesn't come by happenstance. But be careful - not everyone can be in your entourage... don't give just anyone access to the inner space of your life. When you give a person access to your inner space, you're really empowering then to speak into your life. And not everyone can handle, or be trusted with, that kind of power.

Here's the bottom line: We ALL need loyal friends we can count on, even when times are tough... no, especially when times are tough! "A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity" (Prov. 17:17). Be intentional with putting together a group of these "loyal friends"... an entourage. Your life will be the better for it.